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We may never see Richard Linklater’s film adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical Merrily We Roll Along—starring Ben Platt, Beanie Feldstein and Paul Mescal, the movie, shot in real time to mirror the passing of 30 years in the story, isn’t set to finish shooting until 2039. But luckily, another, equally star-studded version of the classic musical is coming to theaters later this year.
A live capture of the Tony-winning Broadway revival of Merrily We Roll Along will premiere in movie theaters on December 5, an early holiday gift for theater lovers and Sondheim fans courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics and Fathom Entertainment. Directed by Maria Friedman and starring Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe and Lindsay Mendez, the production follows three best friends from the end of their decades-long friendship to its very beginnings, as they grapple with fame, success and thwarted romance. George Furth wrote the musical’s book, an adaptation of a Moss Hart-George S. Kaufman play.
Merrily We Roll Along opened on Broadway on October 10, 2023, and closed July 7, 2024, after extending its run.
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“This is a show that makes demands of its audience, perhaps sometimes unreasonable ones,” Time Out New York’s Adam Feldman wrote in his five-star review. “But as Charley sings during a loving argument with his friends: “What’s the point of demands you can meet?” Friedman’s production meets the audience halfway, and a Broadway audience today just might be able to make up the difference as it couldn’t in 1981. Cross your fingers: It might finally be Merrily’s time.”
Reviving an infamous flop that ran for just 16 performances in its first Broadway incarnation, this Merrily We Roll Along set box office records after transferring from Off-Broadway to the Hudson Theater, winning Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical, Best Orchestrations for Jonathan Tunick, Leading Actor in a Musical for Groff and Featured Actor in a Musical for Radcliffe. The score boasts some of Sondheim’s most-loved songs, including “Not a Day Goes By,” “Old Friends,” and “Good Thing Going.” The cast also includes Krystal Joy Brown, Katie Rose Clarke, and Reg Rogers.
The live capture was filmed during the revival’s final month of performances by RadicalMedia, the company that recorded the Broadway productions of Hamilton and Come From Away.